Fastener device



Feb. 24, 1942. w. I. JONES FASTENER DEVICE Filed April 9, 1940 Q bbbbbbbbbbbbbbb O Invenior: IazZZer 1. Jones. 5 JMLL Patented Feb. 24, 1942 FASTENER DEVICE Walter I. Jones, Belmont, Mass., assignor to United-Carr Fastener Corporation, Cambridge,

Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts 4 Application April 9, 1940, Serial No. 328,727 1 Claim. (Cl. 24-73) This invention relates to improvements in fastener devices such as buckles, particularly to the type of buckle secured to the end of a strap, belt or the like, the members of which may be quickly engaged and disengaged.

An object of my invention is the provision of a simple and inexpensive 'buckle device, parts of which are easily engageable and disengageable but which, when in interlocking relation, are fastened against separation except by force applied to parts thereof in predetermined directions and are capable of relative rotation to accord with the movements of the wearer.

A further object of my invention relates to stud and socket members wherein the stud member has a head and neck and the socket member includes a plate portion having a stud-receivin opening of elongated shape anda spring tongue interlocking with the stud member upon moving the stud axially through the opening, the parts being disengageable by applying lifting force to the socket member at a number of points around its periphery.

Another object of my invention relates to the construction of the socket member of my device wherein the spring tongue may be readily flexed during disengagement or the parts to effect an easy separation.

Other objects and uses of my invention will be apparent from inspection of the drawing and specification hereinbelow described.

Referring to the drawing, in which I have illustrated preferred embodiments of my invention--- Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the parts of my fastener device in fastened engagement;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the installation shown in Fig. 1 showing movement of one fastener member relative to the other in engaging the parts;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a front elevation of one of the fastener members of my buckle device;

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the installation shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 showing one method of disengaging the parts; and I Fig. 6 is a front elevation of a modified form of the fastener member shown in Fig. 4.

Although my improved buckle device is capable of a variety of uses, I have chosen to illustrate it in connection with an article such as a bathing cap wherein a socket member 'or buckle plate I carrying a chin strap 2 is connected with a stud member 3 secured to a portion of a bathing cap 4. The stud of the buckle device comprises an upstanding stud portion having a head 5 of curved contour and a neck portion 6.

The buckle plate I has a flat body portion 1 which may be formed to provide any suitable design and which has a pair of parallel slots 8 and 9 at one end receiving the strap 2. The body I has a stud-receiving opening l0 (Fig. 4) at an opposite end from the slots 8 and 9. The openin I0 is preferably of oval or elongatedform so as to enable the parts of the device to be disengaged by liftiiig force applied to the sides of the body portion 1, as will be described. The body I has a locking member in the form of a spring tongue ll normally lying in the plane of the body and extending in a direction transverse to the major axis of the opening Ill. The spring tongue H is defined by spaced slits which extend from the opening Ill toward the slots 8 and 9 and which terminate adjacent to, but short of, the slot 8. It will be noticed that the distance between the slots l2-l2 at their ends adjacent the strapreceiving slot 8 is no greater than, and preferably less than, the distance between the slots l2-l2 at their ends adjacent the opening l0. As a result of this construction, the locking tongue is rendered very resilient so as to be movable laterally to increase the size of the opening ill to effect disengagement of the parts even though relatively light lifting force may be applied to the buckle plate. The spring tongue H has a free edge I3 at its end adjacent the opening l0 and the body 1 has a wall It adjacent the opening l0 cooperating with the edge l3 to engage the neck 6 of the stud portion'when the parts or the buckle are in interlocking relation. The edge "is preferably of concave or are shape with the ends l5 of the edge in close proximity to the wall I and disposed on the same side of the center line of the stud 3 extending parallel to the major axis of the opening H).

To engage the buckle plate I in interlocked relation with the stud 3, the buckle plate is moved toward the stud 3 to receive the stud head 5 within the opening l0. As the opening I0 is too small to receive the stud head when-the spring tongue H is in normal position, the tongue H is moved transversely outwardly through engagement thereof with the rounded cam surface of the head 5 until the opening III is sufliciently large to admit the head, after which the tongue I I returns toward normal position under its natural tension to interlock with the neck 6 of the stud portion between the head 5 and the support 4. Thus the parts of the buckle are secured against inadvertent disengagement and yet the buckle plate I is free to pivot relative to the stud member 3. The buckle I may be purposely disengaged from the stud member by grasping it at its end adjacent the strap 2 and swinging it outwardly away from the work in the direction A, shown in Fig. 3, by pivoting the plate 1 around its axis transverse to the longitudinal axis of the tongue ii to disengage the tongue H from the head portion. Another very convenient way of disengaging the buckle from the stud member is to grasp the buckle at portions of its sides lO-l' and pivot the buckle around the longitudinal axis of the spring tongue I I, as most clearly shown in Fig. 6, to disengage the tongue. This method of separation of the parts results directly from the particular construction of the buckle plate i wherein the stud-receiving opening I is oval in shape. When the buckle is lifted by force exerted on one of the sides IS, the spring tongue II is twisted downwardly thereby enlarging the oval opening III to permit the head to pass l rethrough. In order to efiect ready twisting wire of the spring tongue ll during the disengaging operation, it is desirable to have the width of the tongue II at its end adjacent the slot 8 no wider than the width of the tongue at its end adjacent the opening l0. This method 01' disengaging the parts, wherein the plate member is lifted by force applied to its sides, is natural and convenient in many applications of the buckle device, as, for example, when the buckle is secured to the end of an ankle strap such as provided on certain foot apparel.

Fig. 5 represents a modification of my preferred form of buckle plate shown in Figs. 1-4 wherein I have provided a, buckle plate having strap-receiving slots I1 and I8 at one end and a stud-receiving opening l9 formed in the body 20 of the buckle adjacent the slot l1 and a spring tongue 2| similar in form to the spring tongue ll of my preferred device defined by spaced slits 22 extending from the opening l9 toward an opposite end 23 of the body 20 from that having the slots I! and I8. My modified construction of buckle plate is particularly useful in combination with straps such as used on overshoes to bring the flaps together due to the fact that in such installations it is advantageou to disengage the parts of the buckle by grasping the buckle plate at its end 23 to swing the plate out of engagement with the stud portion.

Although I have illustrated and described preferred embodiments wish to be limited thereby because the scope of my invention is best defined in the following claim.

I claim:

A fastening device for cooperation with a stud member having a circular head and reduced shank, comprising a plate member of thin metal formed with a U-shaped slot providing a relatively stifl body portion surrounding said slot, and a yielding tongue between the sides of said slot, said tongue being integrally Joined to the body portion between the ends of the sides of said slot, and having a convexed freeedge along the bight of said slot, the central portion of the free edge of the tongue being formed with a substantially semi-circular recess forming with the opposed edge of the bight of said slot a stud-receiving opening of substantially the diameter of the stud shank of materially less diameter than the stud head, said tongue being adapted to engage the shank of the stud and hold it against the body portion preventing shifting axially and transversely of the bight of the slot when in locked position, said tongue being yieldable transversely relative to the body portion to permit insertion and removal of the stud from the studreceiving opening, said body portion being extended substantially beyond the bight of the slot and provided with at least one transverse strapreceiving opening, said extended strap-receiving portion also constituting a handle portion spaced from the line where the tongue is joined to the body portion a distance greater than the free edge of the tongue engaging the stud.

WALTER I. JONES.

of my invention, -I do not 

